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Where did Feb. 29th go, again?

It seems that the media is very good at explaining why we have February 29th in Leap Years, but there isn’t even a peep about why the date does not show up in other years. This means that there is little to no explanation of why and how we have our current calendar in non-Leap years. This post is intended to remedy that situation.

First, to be clear, this isn’t a Leap Year, so February 29th doesn’t get a spot on the calendar this year. The last Leap Day was in 2016, and the next one will be in 2020. You probably knew that, but do you remember why we have Leap Day? Here’s a quick little one minute explanation that was broadcast by CBS Sunday Morning before the last Leap Day in 2016.

Nice, short and sweet, but not the full story. Here’s a slightly older and longer clip that gives a bit more background about why we need a Leap Day.